Automatic firearm.



AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED APR-7,1914.

9 T 51 E 1 F.

WWW 1 s T L E E H s 3 INVENTOR. Jaw/V 0 M/M/KS BY var M g A TTORNE Y5.

36H 0. WENKS, 05 SAN" FRANCESCG, CALEF AUTOMATIC FIREARM".

1,19@ 352 Specification of Letters Patent. i

Application filed April 7, 1914.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOHN O. VVrNKs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates particularly to that form of firearm in which the recoil due to the firing of a cartridge is utilized to extract the empty cartridge from the barrel and to insert another loaded cartridge.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an automatic firearm in which the cartrid e is locked in the barrel at the time of firin Another object of the invention is to provide a novel means for conveying the cartridge from the magazine to thebarrel.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved trigger and tiring mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved means for allowing the insertion of loaded cartridges into the magazine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a practical, etiicient and simple automatic shot-gun.

The invention possesses other advanta geous features which with the foregoing will be set forth at length in the following description, where I shall outline in full that form of the invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the following specification. The novelty of the invention will be included in. the claims succeeding said description. From this it will be apparent that I do not limit myselt to the showing made by said drawings and description, as I may adopt many variations within the scope of my invention as set forth in said claims. I

In the drawings 1 have shown my inven tion as applied to a shot gun, and while the construction is particularly applicable to this class of firearms, it is not to be limited to such firearms.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of the shot gun of my invention, part of the barrel thereof being broken away to reduce the size of the figure. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the shot gun of July Serial 210. 830,141.

my invention. Fig. 3 is an underneath View of a portion of the shot gun of my inventron. Fig. i is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the shot gun of my invention. showing the breech bolt in the retracted position and cartridge in position to be introduced into the barrel. is a cross section of the shot gun t i i Fig. (3 is L 55 Fig. e. receiver taken on line i". 7 is a. cross section of the re the line T'[ Fig. Fl. view of the ireech bolt. tive view of the spective view of the lever for bringing loaded cartridges into alinement with the barrel. Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the carriage for the cartridge in its movement into alinement with the barrel. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the slide arranged in the upper portion of the receiver. is a perspective view of the bloc which the cartridge traveie the carrn 1 tical the receiver taken on the line 1%14 i i"). Fig. 15 is a lon itudinal horizontal n section of the receiver taken through the center of the breech bolt on the line l2-l2 Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the tn 7 for menu: ly UPQL'Prtl g t 3 loading mechanism. Fig. 1'? is tive view of the connection b breech bolt and the spring 'for returnin ato tiring position.

The firearm of my invention cor o a chambered casing or receive: 2 is arranged the cartridge manip tiring a. anisiu. a magazine and their l ..'..c nt i corica anisms. ihc receiver comprises casing pre "ably formed in 3 which are hinged together 3, so that the gun may be taken down. The two parts are held together by the spring held latch 4 arranged at the upper portion. of the receiver. Rigidly secured to the forward portion of the receiver its forward upper end is the barrel 5 in which the cartridge is tired. liigidly secured to the rear portion of the receiver is the stock 6 arranged the magazine for charged cartridges.

Arranged in the upper portion of ceiver 2 and contacting with the to 1G is a per-- cartridge in the barrel.

thereof is a slide 7 having a circular or semi-circular portion which seats in a cutout portion of the barrel. The inner diameter of this inserted portion is the same as the'externaldiameter of the cartridge and this portion contacts with and engages the The slide 7 has a limited longitudinal movement in the. receiver and is halted in its backward movement by the shoulder 8 in the top wall of the receiver. The slide thus serves as the ejector of the exploded shell and at the same time provides a continuous bearing for the top of the breech-bolt to slide on as it rcciprocates from the barrel to the far end of the receiver. It also provides a stop to receive the cartridge as it is carried up bet-ween the down-turned ends of the slide and the retracted breech-bolt, and a slideway for the cartridge as the breech bolt drives it from the receiver into the barrel. This construction of the slide of ample length and'stability readily lends itself to the locking of the slide and breech-bolt during the firing of the cartridge.

Arranged below the slide 7 and slidable longitudinally in the receiver is the breech bolt 9 in which is arranged the firing pin 12. In its normal position the breech bolt lies directly behind and presses against the cartridge in the barrel and the firing pin, when released, extends through an aperture in the front wall of the breech bolt and fires the cartridge. The firing pin is driven forward by a spring 13 arranged within the breech bolt, between the rear end thereof and the firing pin. The rear end of the breech bolt preferably consists of a plate 14 having beveled edges which seat in corresponding grooves in the side walls of the bolt. The aperture or bore of the breech bolt in which the firing pin is arranged is spaced from the bottom of the bolt, so that a comparatively thick bottom wall is formed and the lower end of the plate 1% occurs above this bottom wall and is spaced therefrom providing an opening through which the tongue 15 of the firing pin extends. This tongue is provided with an aperture or seat 16 which is adapted to be engaged by a finger 17 attached to the trigger 18. As the breech bolt moves forward from its rearward position, into which position it has been moved manually or by'the firing of a cartridge. the finger 17 engages the aperture 16 in the tongue 15 and holds the firing pin as the breech bolt continues its forward movement. thereby compressing the spring 13. lVhen the trigger 18 is pulled, the firing pin is released and it springs forward and fires the cartridge. The breech bolt moves backward in the receivcr to such an extent that the rear end thereof passes beyond the forward end of the finger 17 and the breech bolt is provided on its lower face with a groove 19 in which the finger lies when the bolt is in such position. This groove passes entirely through the bottom wall of the bolt so that the finger contacts with the under side of the tongue 15 and the projection 91 on the forward end of the linger always engages the aperture in the tongue as the breech bolt moves forward. The finger is pressed upward against the tongue by the spring arranged behind the trigger.

l\'Ieans are provided for locking the breech bolt andthe slide 7 together in their forward or firing position. The breech bolt is provided on opposite sides with substantially vertical grooves 23 in which are arranged the slidable latches 24. The slide 7 is also provided on opposite sides with grooves 25, which register with the grooves 24- when both slide and bolt are in their proper forward positions, andin this posi tion. the latches 24 slide into engagement with the grooves thereby locking the bolt and slide together. The vertical movement of the latches 24 is controlled by longitudinal grooves 26 formed in the side walls of the receiver, which are engaged each by a pin 28 secured to the lower end of each latch. These grooves slope upward at their forward ends, causing the latches to be raised as the breech bolt approaches its forward position, bringing them into engagement with the slots or grooves in slide 7 and thereby moving the slide to its forward position.

The breech bolt is moved backward from its firing position, by the force of the explosion of the cartridge and is moved forward again to its firing position by a coiled spr1ng31 arranged in the stock 6 of the gun. The spring 31 surrounds the magazine tube 33 and is compressed by the rearward movement of the breech block. Arranged between the spring and the breech block is an intermediate member or slide 34, which is formed tubular at its rear end 35 and fiat at its forward portion. The forward end of the slide 34 is rounded and engages curved seat 40 at the lower rear end of the'breech bolt 9. The forward or flat portion of the slide is divided into two prongs 36 by the slot 37 in which the finger 17 of the trigger mechanism is disposed. Since the stock 6 of the gun lies at an angle to the barrel, the magazine tube 33 is curved or bent intermediate the stock and the forward portion of the receiver and consequently the tubular portion 35 of the slide 3% is curved longitudinally to accommodate the curve of the magazine tube. The trigger mechanism is formed with a partly circular or otherwise shaped hollow body 38 which occurs intermediate the finger grip 18. and the finger 17, and the magazine shell and the slide 34 pass through the hollow body. The trigger is The inner ends of these fingers normally lie in the plane of the front end of the breech bolt when the bolt is in the firing position, and the fingers are spaced apart so that the inner surfaces thereof are prac tically alined with the outer surface of the side walls of the breech bolt.

When it is desired to operate the mechanism of the gun, without firing the cartridge in the barrel, to extract the cartridges from the gun or when it is desirable to load the magazine, the grip is pulled backward. The initial movement of the grip causes the fingers 66 to be depressed slightly, as the cams 67 are moved out of their recesses. This depressing of the fingers moves pin 68 below the under face of the breech bolt, and when the cam moves out of the groove in the barrel, the finger springs upward, seating the pin in a notch 71 formed in the side of the breech bolt. The pin 6.) simultaneously comes in contact with the front face of the bolt, thereby practically locking the bolt to the fingers. The further backward movement of the grip moves the breech bolt to its rear position and allows the carriage to rise. The mechanism may be locked in this position by means of the but ton 72 on the grip which may be pressed into a hole 73 in the fixed tube 63. Wren it is desired to freely reciprocate the breech bolt, for the purpose of removing the cartridges from the gun for example, the spring 31 is locked in its compressed position. when the breech bolt is retracted, by means of the latch 74 arranged at the lower end of the receiver. The breech bolt is then free to be moved manually in either directicn. and since it is positively engaged to the grip, it may be readily reciprocated and the cartridges discharged. The latch 74 may be employed for releasing the mechanism from the influence of the spring 31 for either loading, unloading, or other reasons. The forward face of the notch 71 is rounded so that when the grip is moved forward to its extreme position against the stop 75, the pin 68 slips out of the notch and releases the fingers 66 from the breech bolt.

I claim:

1. In an automatic firearm, a receiver, a barrel attached to said receiver, a slide engaging in said barrel and extending into said receiver, a reciprocating breech-bolt in said receiver below said slide, and means for locking said slide and breech-bolt together.

2. In an automatic firearm, a receiver. a barrel fixed to said receiver, a slide engaging in said barrel and extending into said re ceiver and having a movement independent of the barrel, a reciprocating breech-bolt in said receiver below said slide, and means for locking said slide and breechbolt together in their forward positions.

3. In an automatic firearm, a receiver,

sides with grooves, a reciprocating breec bolt arranged below said slide provided (I opposite sides with grooves, latches arrange in said grooves adapted to be moved int the grooves in the slide to lock the pari together, and pins on said latches engagin in grooves formed in the side walls of th receiver.

5. In an automatic firearm, a receiver, barrel attached to said receiver, a slide er gaging said barrel provided on opposit sides with grooves, a reciprocating breecl. bolt arranged below said slide provided 0 opposite sides with substantially vertica grooves, latches arranged in said groove adapted to be moved into the grooves in th slide to lock the parts together, and pins 01 said latches engaging in grooves in the sid walls of the receiver, said last 112111161 grooves being horizontal and being lI1Clil18( upwardly at their forward ends, whereby movement of the breech-bolt to its fOI'WHN position causes said latches to be elevate and moved into engagement with the slide 6. In an automatic fire arm, a receiver, barrel and stock attached to said receiver an ejector slide engaging in said barrel 2\I1(' extending into said receiver, a reciprocating breech-bolt in said receiver in engagemem with said slide, and a spring seated in saic stock arranged to move the breech bolt froIr its rearward to its forward position.

7. In an automatic fire arm, a receiver, a barrel and stock attached to said receiver an ejector slide engaging in said barrel and extending into said receiver, a reciprocating breech-bolt in said receiver in engagement with said slide, a spring seated in said stock arranged to move the breech-bolt from its rearward to its forward position, and means for locking said spring in its compressed position.

8. In an automatic fire arm, a receiver, a barrel and a stock attached to said receiver, an ejector slide arranged in said receiver and seating in said barrel, a reciprocating breech-bolt in said receiver in engagement with the slide, a magazine tube in said stock and a spring arranged to move the breechbolt forward disposed about said tube.

9. In an automatic fire' arm, a receiver, a barrel and a stock attached to said receiver,

rovided at opposite sides of the body with ins 39 which seat in grooves 41 formed in ie-opposite side walls of the rear portion f the receiver. The side walls of the front nd rear portions of the receiver meet at the ne 42, which indicates the rear edge of the do of the forward portion and the front ige of the side of the rear portion. The rooves 41 open out at the front edge of the ear portion, so that the trigger may be aadily inserted in assembling the gun. At 1e upper rear portion of the body of the 'igger is a projection 43 which is adapted be engaged by a button 44 on the spring 5, to lock the trigger against movement. he spring is moved by the button or slide 3 projecting through the rear wall of the eceiver and to which the spring is attached. Seated in the lower portion of the forard part of the receiver at the rear thereof a hollow block 46 which forms the extenon within the forward part of the receiver, f the magazine tube 33. This block 46 is rovided at its rear end with projecting lgs or pins 47, which engage the slots or moves 41 and hold the trigger trunnions or ins 39 in place. The block is cut away at 1e front of its lower face to accommodate 1e hinge 3, and is provided with grooves 3 along the opposite sides of its upper face permit the longitudinal movement of the .tches 24.

Arranged in the receiver, in front of the lock 46 is a carriage 49 which receives the trtri dge from the block 46 and raises it into linement with the barrel. The carriage has rounded interior surface to conform to the rape of the cartridge and is provided with pwardly inclined side walls 51 which are rovided at their lower and rear ends with rojections 52, which serve to hold the car- 'idge in place in the carriage. The inclined irfaces of the side Walls are engaged by re breech bolt in its forward movement, iereby effecting the depression of the carage into alinement with the magazine tube block 46. The carriage is moved upward the breech bolt retreats, by thespring 53 igaging the levers 54 which are pivoted a block 55 arranged at the forward end of re receiver, below the barrel. The levers re spread apart at their movable ends and igage in seats 56 on the under side of the lrriage, which is recessed from the seats )rward to accommodate the levers when 1e carriage is depressed. The spring 53 is red in the block 55 and engages below the 'oss rod 57 of the levers 54 and tends at 1 times to raise the carriage. The upper LCBS of the side walls of the carriage con- .ct with the under surface of the breech lt, so that as the bolt moves backward, the irriage moves upward and as the bolt relrns the carriage is depressed. The carage is pivoted to the levers 54 intermediate its ends so that it is capable of tilting movement about the pivots as it moves upward and downward. On account of the shape of the upper faces of the side walls of the carriage, the forward end thereof precedes the rear end in its upward movement and succeeds it in its downward movement. The rear end of the carriage is not moved out of the path of the succeeding cartridge in the magazine tube when the carriage is in its raised position and therefore acts as a stop to prevent the forward movement of the succeeding cartridge, until it is again seated in its lower position. As the breech bolt moves backward, the fired cartridge is extracted from the barrel and projected through an opening in the side of the receiver (the opposite side from that shown in Fig. 1) before the carriage raises the loaded cartridge into alinement with the barrel. The returning breech bolt drives the loaded cartridge into the barrel and simultaneously depresses the carriage.

The magazine tube 33 extends through the stock 6 of the gun and is closed at the lower end by the butt-plate 58. The cartridges are arranged seriatim or end to end in the magazine and within the tube 33 is a spring 59 which is compressed as the cartridges are inserted and which advances the cartridges into the receiver as the gun is fired. The loaded cartridges are introduced into the magazine through the receiver which is provided with an aperture 61 for this purpose. The aperture is located directly beneath the carriage 49 and is normally closed by the bottom 62 of the carriage. When the carriage is raised, hOWQXBI, an opening is provided for the insertion of the loaded cartridges into the block 46 and the magazine tube 33. The rear end of the carriage lies partly in the path of the cartridges and springs up slightly to allow them to be inserted into the block 46, but prevents them from feeding forward.

lVIeans are provided for manually allowing the raising of the carriage to allow the insertion of the cartridges and for locking the mechanism in position so that the carriage remains in its elevated position. Secured to the forward end of the receiver below the barrel is a tube 63 upon which is slidably arranged a second tube 64 to which is attached the grip 65. The tube 64 is provided with two rearwardly projecting arms or fingers 66 which are arranged in grooves on the under side of the barrel. T hesc fingers 66 are provided on their upper surfaces, adjacent the rear end with rounded pro ections or cams 67 which seat in correspondingly shaped recesses in the barrel. At the inside of one of these fingers at the lower corner of the inner end is a rounded pin 68 and on the inside of the other finger at a short distance from the end is a square pm a slide arranged in said receiver and seating in said barrel, a reciprocating breech-bolt in said receiver below said slide, means for locking said breech-bolt and slide together, a spring in said stock adapted to move the breech-bolt forward, and a slide engaging said spring and the rear end of said breechbolt.

10. In an automatic firearm, a receiver and stock, a reciprocating breech-bolt arranged in said receiver, a magazine tube arranged in said stock and extending into said receiver, a spring surrounding said magazine tube, and a slide having a rear portion surrounding said magazine tube, arranged between said spring and breech bolt.

11. In an automatic firearm, a receiver and stock, a reciprocating breech bolt arranged in said receiver, a magazine tube arranged in said stock and extending into said receiver, a spring surrounding said tube and a slide having a tubularrear portion surrounding said tube and engagingsaid spring, and a flat front portion engaging the rear end of said breech-bolt. v

12. In an automatic fire arm, a receiver,

, a barrel and a stock attached to said receiver, an ejector slide arranged in said receiver and seating in said barrel, a reciprocating breech-bolt in said receiver in engagement with said slide, a firing pin in said breecl1bolt, a magazine tube arranged in said stock and extending into said receiver, and a trigger mechanism having a hollow body surrounding said magazine tube and adapted to engage said firing pin.

13. In an automatic fire -.arm, a receiver and stock, a reciprocating gas actuated breech-bolt'arranged in said receiver, a firing pin in said breech-bolt, a trigger having a finger arranged to engage said firing pin, a magazine tube in said stock extending through said trigger into the receiver, a spring surrounding said tube adapted to be compressed by the retracting breech-bolt, and a slide between said spring and breechbolt.

14. In an automatic firearm, a receiver and stock, a trigger in said receiver, a magazine tube in said stock and a separable hollow block in said receiver engaging said trigger and forming the forward end of the magazine tube.

15. In an automatic fire arm, a receiver and stock, a magazine tube in said stock extending into the lower part of the receiver, an ejector slide arranged in said receiver, a reciprocating breech-bolt in said receiver in engagement with said slide, a carriage alined with the forward end of the magazine tube and means for elevating said carriage as the bolt is retracted.

16. In an automatic fire arm, a receiver barrel and stock, a magazine tube in said stock extending into the lower part of the receiver, an ejector slide arranged in said receiver and seating in said barrel, a gas actuated reciprocating breech-bolt disposed in said receiver in engagement with said slide, a carriage arranged in front of the magazine tube adapted to receive a cartridge therefrom and raise it into alinement with the barrel, a lever engaging said carriage, and a spring arranged to press said lever upward.

17. In an automatic firearm, a receiver, a reciprocating breech-bolt arranged in said receiver, a slide projecting forwardly from said receiver and terminating at its end in spring members adapted to engage and disengage said breech-bolt, and means for positively engaging said slide and breech-bolt.

18. In an automatic firearm, a receiver and barrel, a reciprocating breech-bolt arranged in said receiver in line with said barrel, a-

slide ending in a bifurcated member arranged below said barrel, a pin on one of said bifurcations arranged to engage a notch in said breech-bolt and a pin on the other bifurcation to engage the front end of the breech-bolt.

19. In an automatic firearm, a receiver and barrel, a reciprocating breech-bolt arranged in said receiver in line with said barrel, a slide ending in a twin spring member arranged below said barrel and seated in a groove in the lower side of said barrel, a pin on said member adapted to engage in a notch in said breech-bolt, and means for locking the slide in its rear position.

- 20. In an automatic firearm, a barrel, receiver and stock, a reciprocating breech-bolt in said receiver in line with said barrel, a. spring in said stock arranged to move the breech-bolt forward, a slide arranged below said barrel adapted to be manually operated to move said breech-bolt backward and compress said spring, and means for locking said spring in its compressed position.

i 21. In an automatic firearm, a receiver and stock, a magazine tube in said stock extending into the lower part of said receiver, and a lever actuated carriage bodily vertically movable arranged in' said receiver in front of said magazine tube, said carriage in its depressed position seating in and closing a cartridge charging aperture in the bottom of the receiver.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco, California, this 30th day of March, 1914.

JOHN O. WINKS.

I In presence of' H. G. PRos'r, J. B. GARDNER. 

